AN UPDATE!

We are so excited to share some fun, creative updates about the upcoming opening of our new space! (By the way, if you didn’t hear, Dingbat is getting its own space! What?! A New space?! YAS!!!) We’ve made positive steps with the county building department in getting our theatre project’s new home approved so it’s safe and welcoming for our audiences and artists. We are still planning and looking forward to having our grand opening with our upcoming production of Dingbat’s Hercules, or, the Laborious Labors of the Artist Formerly Known as Heracles (sponsored by GulfCoast Community Foundation) on September 20, 2024. Tickets are already available for purchase, so grab yours today!

The above photo is a rendering of the ground-plan for our future “DINGBAT LOUNGE.” We will be having small performances, readings, children’s theatre performances, cabarets, pop-up events, and more in the space throughout the week following our September opening. We hope that this space becomes a safe space for local artists, arts-enthusiasts, and arts-babies to share and enjoy each others’ craft. The Lounge will be open before and after all performances and other select evenings and weekends as well. We are working toward getting our beer and wine license so we’ll be able to serve our patrons some adult beverages when the Lounge is open.

This next photo is a rendering of what we’re thinking our first production will look like in our new immersive 70-seat blackbox theatre. Dingbat’s Hercules is an original chaotic and hilarious two-person comedy the re-imagines the myth of Hercules through a modern day lens. Which means crocodile hunters, those blow-up guys outside of car dealerships, puppets, lip sync battles, and more. You’ll just have to come and see it, I guess. As we enter rehearsals for this show in the coming weeks, we are excited to take you on our journey of bringing this new work to life. We’ll be documenting the process of putting this show and this new space together, so make sure you stay tuned in to our mailing list and social media for updates.

In the meantime, the best way support Dingbat Theatre Project is always through donating. Rent is expensive, renovations are expensive, and theatre is expensive. In true Dingbat fashion, we are being sparing and thoughtful with our resources, while also trying to make the space as comfortable and welcoming as we can AND making our shows as amazing as they’ve been (and more). We’re thankful to our donors who’ve gotten us this far, and to the individuals and organizations who are donating their services to us to make this dream come true. BUT! Of course, there’s still a long way to go. Even if you aren’t in a place to give financially, you can always help us out by sharing our donate link on social media or pointing us in the direction of people or organizations who would be interested in sponsoring us with a tax-deductible donation.

Sincerely,

​The Dingbats <3

Dingbat’s new venue is located at 7288 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34231. The location is near Gulf Gate and the Stickney Point Bascule Bridge to access Siesta Key. This new central location allows Dingbat to be closer to their Sarasota/Bradenton-based and Venice/Charlotte County-based artists and patrons. Dingbat is located nearby to many restaurants including local favorites like Napulé and Mattison’s Forty-One across the street. 

We were hoping to share this exciting news earlier, but we have been patiently waiting for permits and other boring stuff to go through. Because of this, our production of Hercules is being rescheduled. Dingbat’s Hercules, a world-premiere two-person quick-change comedy, originally set to perform early this summer, will instead perform September 20-October 6, 2024 and will be the first production in Dingbat’s new space. Hercules will be followed by Dingbat’s 5th Anniversary Season with productions and events showing at the theatre November 2024 through June 2025. The season will be announced later this summer. Hercules ticketholders and subscribers will be contacted this week to get their tickets re-assigned to the new dates.